Chapter 2

I awoke on a bed of verdant grass, just a few short steps away from a blurry distortion in space that marked the entrance to the dungeon.

For centuries, I’d been able to accurately gauge the passing of time. But with the loss of my affinities, I had no clue how long I’d been asleep.

It didn’t matter all that much since I was in a safe zone and there were no other challengers on the floor. Rho had said as much right before I’d lost consciousness.

Since the dungeon’s spawns wouldn’t enter a safe zone, I was pretty much as safe as I could be anywhere. I wouldn’t even need to retreat to my demesne to sleep securely.

That didn’t mean I wouldn’t still use the space as a sanctuary. I absolutely planned to use it the same way I had in the previous realm – as a home.

Knowing that I was safe and nothing was pressing that had to be done, I took a few minutes to think about everything that had happened immediately leading up to my ascension.

Though I felt discontented by how quickly the realm had forced me to ascend once I reached the pinnacle of power, my emotions regarding the topic felt distant and dull.

After a bit of mental prodding, I discovered that I could still feel the warm feelings of love toward my friends and family, but the more negative feelings of loss and sadness took actual effort to manifest.

That was probably a good thing, I decided once I stopped trying to force myself to feel sad.

While I didn’t like that something was obviously interfering with my emotions, I could understand the value in not having Ascenders too focused on what they’d left behind.

Deciding to embrace the future and focus forward instead of looking back, I pushed myself into a seated position, only then noticing my change in attire. The sight made me sigh.

To be fair, my new clothes weren’t as bad as the white shirt and linen pants that the simulation had started me with. But still, a set of thin, brown, stretchy leggings and a long, purple tunic was a far cry from the enchanted robes I’d ascended in.

At least the boots looked water-resistant.

[Tunic (Average)]

[Pants (Average)]

[Boots (Average)]

Everything was of average make, which wasn’t all that bad. It was certainly better than trash or poor, which were the two lowest item qualities.

It was obvious that none of the clothing was reinforced or enchanted in any way. In fact, I doubted the materials could even hold an enchantment.

Looking at the generic item descriptions, I’d forgotten how little information the system here provided. The basics would work alright for now, but I would definitely need a better inspection skill if I wanted to be a crafter.

Climbing to my feet, I examined my surroundings more closely. There wasn’t much to see, aside from a small weapons rack next to the spatial distortion and a fountain that provided fresh water near the center of the clearing.

Beyond the clearing was a distorted space, marking the edge of the safe zone. The only exception was a hallway directly opposite the dungeon portal, which looked like a path leading into a forest.

I saw hints of familiar flowering herbs scattered between the bamboo and hardwood that marked the edge of the path, and I was curious about how deep the flora extended. It likely wasn’t very far. Probably only a couple of meters on either side, I’d guess.

That was still pretty wide for a hallway.

Once I was satisfied with my initial examination, I pulled up my status to see what had changed.

***

Name: Emie Neohim
Titles: Ascender, Contender
Level: 1
Evolution: None

Core Skills:
Demesne (Rare)
Stasis (Unique/Common)
Restorative Healing (Rare)
Lightning Bolt (Common)

Skill Slots (2/14):
Divide Space (Unique/Common)
Dimensional Anchor (Common)
***

I found it a little odd that my home realm was now listed as my surname, but seeing it there didn’t really bother me. It would ensure I always remembered where I came from.

I was pleased to see I had fourteen general skill slots annotated, even if two had already been taken by utility skills. I’d only had ten in the simulation, and that was considered on the upper end of average for Ascenders.

From what I remembered from my time in the simulation, it was exceedingly rare for any Ascender to have more than twelve skill slots, and eight to ten was more common.

Natives usually started with a single core skill and four to six general skill slots. Occasionally, someone might manifest two core skills and/or seven general skill slots, but those individuals were extremely rare.

An Ascender with twelve skill slots was even rarer, though, and usually resulted in a new Ascender Dungeon appearing with the Ascender.

Which… Rho had mentioned something about.

She’d also mentioned that her clergy (proof that she was connected to the goddess) would be able to recognize my status, though others would not. I sincerely hoped that her priests and priestesses were discreet. Otherwise, leading a relatively normal life might be a lot harder than I hoped.

Considering Rho had mentioned the value of anonymity, I felt there was a good chance that my secret wouldn’t spread from her clergy. I hoped not, at least.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Having four core skills would also make me stand out if it were known. Thankfully, even the best inspection skills wouldn’t be able to peek at my core skills once I filled at least half of my regular skill slots, which I could easily do by recovering a handful of my old spells – or magical skills, as this realm liked to call them.

Like the core of a planet, core skills were located at the very center of one’s soul, with the general skills layered above. As the skills grew, so would my soul, thus generating additional space that could hold more skills.

The goddess’s clerics might still be able to see the details of one’s core skills, but any non-divine inspection skills shouldn’t be able to see anything once my core skills were obscured by additional skills.

I’d need to balance utility skills and new elemental seed skills, especially if I wanted to become a successful Enchanter. But before I started plotting out my future build, I really needed to see what my new body was capable of and test the limits of my current skills.

Especially my newest one.